The present invention relates to the art of air filter systems and more particularly to a high efficiency, low noise, portable room air cleaner. The invention is particularly applicable to a portable canister type air cleaner and will be described with particular reference thereto; however, the invention has much broader applications and may be used in vacuum cleaners and/or to filter air in other environments by employing the novel air filtering arrangement as contemplated in the present invention.
As more and more people move to urban environments, there is an ever increasing need to provide a clean air environment at home and in the work place. In urban areas, where pollution levels sometimes exceed maximum values set by the EPA, the need for a clean air environment becomes even more apparent. In view of the posed hazards these polluted environments create, the public has demanded a means for removing pollutants from the environment to provide a healthy environment for both living and working. Furthermore, many of these particles in the air can act as irritants and/or increase or aggravate a person""s allergies. Airborn pollutants can also contribute to respiratory infections and illnesses which can be hazardous to individuals with respiratory problems. Particles in the air can create problems such as burning eyes, nose and throat irritation, contributing to headaches and dizziness, which can result in coughing and sneezing. Furthermore, these particles can include various types of spores, dust mites, microorganisms, such as bacteria and/or viruses, and/or other types of harmful particles which may cause serious illness or infection to a person.
In an effort to reduce the number of particles from the air and/or other environments, many homes, offices, and buildings have incorporated a central filtering system to remove particles entrained in the air. Unfortunately, these systems are very expensive and/or do not remove many of the small particles which can be the most hazardous and irritable to persons, such as spores, micro-organisms, such as bacteria and/or viruses, dust mites and some harmful chemicals. Typically, these filtering systems only remove about 300,000 particles out of about 20 million particles which flow into the filter medium. The small particles, which make up a majority of the particles in the air, freely pass through these conventional filter systems.
Specialized filters have been developed to remove many of the small particles in the air. Such filters are known as HEPA filters, which stands for High Efficiency Particle Air Filters, which, by government standards, are filters with a minimum efficiency of 99.97%. The industry defines HEPA filters as those filters which are efficient in removing 99.97% the airborn particles the size of 0.3 micron or larger. Such filters are commonly used in ultra clean environments such as in a laboratory, in electronic and biologically clean rooms, in hospitals and the like. These filters have recently been incorporated in air filters for business and individual use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,482 a portable HEPA room air cleaner is disclosed. The air cleaner incorporates a cylindrical HEPA filter and the filter is mounted within the filter housing having an air discharge at its base. A centrifugal fan is incorporated in the housing to draw air through the filter and discharge air at the base of the housing. Due to the configuration of the air cleaner, it is necessary to space the base of the apparatus from the main housing. Such a configuration also requires that the apparatus be designed somewhat larger than some consumers may desire. The discharge of air at the base of the unit results in the recirculation of particles which have already settled on the floor. Such recirculation of settled particles can result in increased particle irritation. The air cleaner does not incorporate a gas filter to remove irritable or noxious gas from the air.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,817, another type of portable HEPA room air cleaner is disclosed. This unit is cylindrical in shape and includes a base discharge. A centrifugal fan is used to draw air into the top of the unit and discharge filtered air at the base of the unit. The unit incorporates an outer deflector wall to radially discharge air at the bottom of the unit, such that the exhaust air is channeled generally circumferentially about the base of the unit. The discharged air at the base of the unit results in the redistribution of settled particles back into the air. The air cleaner is also absent any mechanism for removing unwanted gases in the air.
Assignee""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,343 discloses an improved air cleaner design which discharges purified air near the top of the unit to reduce recirculation of settled particles. The air cleaner also incorporates an internal air flow design which reduces pressure drop through the air cleaner thereby improving the efficiencies of the air cleaner. The air filter further incorporates an improved filtering agent to remove more particles as compared to standard HEPA filters. The efficiencies of standard HEPA filters are all based upon 0.3 micron size particles. Historically, it was believed that particles about 0.3 micron in size were the most difficult to remove from the air. However, recent particle filtration testing has shown that particles the size of about 0.1 micron are the most difficult to remove from the air. Standard HEPA filters do not efficiently remove such small particles and allow such particles to freely pass through the filter medium. An analysis of these small particles has shown that the particles do not naturally fall out of the air, but instead remain entrained in the air by constantly bouncing off other particles in the air (i.e. Browning effect). These small particles have also been found to deviate from the air flow thus making such particles even more difficult to remove from the air. The improved particle filter used in U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,343 overcomes this particle filtration problem by incorporating a filter which can remove at least about 99.98% of particles about 0.1 micron in size. The filter system can also include a gas filter to remove unwanted gases from the filtered air.
Although Assignee""s air filter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,343 greatly improves air purification technology, additional improvements in air purification efficiencies were still demanded. During the air purification process, the air intake section is preferably the largest surface area component of the air cleaner so as to maximize the size of the air filter and volume of air to be purified. However, when the air intake is enlarged, the air purification unit must be enlarged, since the reduction in size of the air exhaust will cause an increase in pressure drop and significant reductions in efficiencies. In order to overcome the increased pressure drop, larger motors must be used which are more costly, noisier and energy consuming. In addition to the noise caused by the increased motor size, the velocity of air through the smaller air exhaust region results in additional noise during operation. To address this problem, Assignee invented an improved air cleaner which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,020. The air cleaner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,020 includes an air exhaust having a plurality of arcuate shaped vanes. The vanes all have the same shape and size and are symmetrically oriented about the air exhaust. The ends of each vane are spaced the same distance from the blower fan to effectively draw air from the blower fan. The drawn air is directed outwardly along the outwardly radiating arcuate vanes. The use of the arcuate vanes overcome the pressure drop problems associated with a smaller air exhaust region thereby allowing larger volumes of air to be expelled in a given surface area. As a result, the size of the air exhaust can be reduced, which in turn can reduce the size of the air cleaner. Furthermore, a larger motor does not need to be used for a smaller air exhaust, since comparable pressure drops are obtained, even though the vane design air exhaust occupies a smaller area than a mesh design air exhaust.
Although the air cleaner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,020 is a significant improvement over prior air cleaner designs, the air cleaner, in some instances, produces vibrational noises during operation. Much of this noise is attributed to the harmonics of the vanes as the filtered air is expelled through the vanes. Therefore, there is a need for an improved air exhaust design which incorporates the use of vanes having reduced vibration tendencies during the operation of the air cleaner.
The invention relates to compact portable room air cleaner and will be described with particular reference thereto; however, it will be appreciated that the air cleaner can be used in general industrial levels and in other environments, wherein it is desirable to remove very small particles and/or undesirable gases from the environment. In addition, the features of the room air cleaner can be incorporated into a vacuum cleaning system.
In accordance with the principal aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable air cleaner which includes a housing having an inner chamber. The exterior of the housing includes an air exhaust and an air intake. In one embodiment, the air intake is located below the air exhaust. In one aspect of this embodiment, the air intake is located at or near the base of the air cleaner to draw air into the air cleaner at or near the base of the air cleaner. In another specific aspect of this embodiment, the air exhaust is located at or near the top of the air cleaner to expel filtered air at or near the top of the air cleaner. The air being drawn into the air cleaner at or near the housing base does not re-blow settled particles back into recirculation in the room. If any settled particles are disturbed, these particles are immediately drawn into the air cleaner and filtered out of the air. The air expelled by the air exhaust positioned at or near the top of the housing is distanced from the floor where settled particles exist, thus the expelled air causes little, if any, settled particles to be recirculated in the room. In another embodiment, the air intake and air exhaust are located about the complete peripheral edge of the housing so as to draw in and expel air essentially around the complete peripheral surface of the housing. This design of the air intake and air exhaust maximizes the surface area in which the air can be drawn in and expelled from the air cleaner. As a result, large volumes of air can be filtered by the air cleaner. Furthermore, the velocity of the air into and out of the air cleaner is reduced due to the large surface area of the air intake. The reduced velocity of the air into the air cleaner reduces problems of stirring settled particles near the air cleaner. The design of the air cleaner to both draw and expel air around the periphery of the housing also allows the air filter to be positioned in various places in a room without concern for blocking the air flow into the air intake or out of the air exhaust. In yet another embodiment, the surface area on the exterior of the housing for the air intake is greater than the surface area on the exterior of the housing for the air exhaust. In still another embodiment, the air exhaust includes a plurality of arcuate shaped vanes. In still yet another embodiment, the vanes are positioned in the air exhaust to minimize vibrational noise during the operation of the air cleaner. In a further embodiment, the vanes are positioned in the air exhaust to increase air efficiencies and reduce pressure drop during the operation of the air cleaner. In one aspect of this embodiment, the air exhaust includes a blade that causes filtered air to be expelled from the air cleaner. Each of the vanes in the air exhaust have an inner or leading end positioned closely adjacent to the periphery of the blade. The inner or leading end of the vane is spaced from the blade a distance to effectively draw filtered air from the blade. Once the filtered air is drawn from the blade, the filtered air is directed outwardly along the outwardly radiating arcuate vanes until expelled from the outer periphery of the air exhaust. In yet a further embodiment, the vanes are positioned in the air exhaust to reduce the amount of noise generated by the air cleaner during operation. Humans typically cannot hear sound that has a wave length of more than 20 KHz. The air exhaust, and more particularly, the vanes in the air exhaust are designed and/or arranged in the air exhaust to reduce the amount of sound generated during the operation of the air exhaust that has a wave length of less than about 20 KHz. In one aspect of this embodiment, the vanes in the air exhaust are designed and/or arranged in the air exhaust to reduce the amount of sound generated during the operation of the air exhaust that has a wave length of less than about 18 KHz.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, one or more vanes in the air exhaust are oriented, configured and/or designed differently from one or more adjacent vanes such that the harmonics of one or more vanes during the operation of the air cleaner is different. In one embodiment, one or more vanes in the air exhaust are not symmetrically oriented with respect to the periphery of the air exhaust. In one aspect of this embodiment, at least one vane has an outer or back end positioned at or close to the periphery of the air exhaust such that the outer or back end is spaced a different distance from the outer or back end of one or more adjacent vanes. In another aspect of this embodiment, the distance between the outer or back end of the adjacent positioned vanes progressively increases. In one particular design of this aspect of this embodiment, the air exhaust includes four vanes. The periphery of the air exhaust is substantially circular. The progressively increased spacing of the outer or back ends of the adjacently positioned vanes is 81.75xc2x0, 89.75xc2x0, 92.75xc2x0 and 95.75xc2x0. As can be appreciated, other angles of separation can be used. By having one or more vanes being not symmetrically oriented with respect to the periphery of the air exhaust, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation, thereby interfering with an additive vibrational effect. As a result, the amount of vibration of the vanes during the operation of the air cleaner is significantly reduced, thereby reducing the vibrational noise during operation of the air cleaner. In addition, the air pressure between differently positioned vanes varies during the operation of the air cleaner. It has been found that this variable air pressure increases the efficiency of filtered air being expelled by the air cleaner and also results in reduced pressure drop. In another embodiment, one or more vanes in the air exhaust are not symmetrically oriented about the blade in the air exhaust. In one aspect of this embodiment, at least one vane has an inner or leading end positioned about the blade such that the inner or leading end is spaced a different distance from the inner or leading end of one or more adjacent vanes. In another aspect of this embodiment, the inner or leading end of the adjacently positioned vanes progressively increases. In one particular design of this aspect of this embodiment, the air exhaust includes four vanes. The blade in the air exhaust is substantially circular. The progressively increased spacing of the inner or leading ends of the adjacently positioned vanes is 81.75xc2x0, 89.75xc2x0, 92.75xc2x0 and 95.75xc2x0. As can be appreciated, other angles of separation can be used. By having one or more of the inner or leading ends of the adjacent vanes positioned at different distances with respect to one another, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In still another embodiment, the width of the inner or leading end of at least one vane is different from the width of the inner or leading end of one or more adjacent vanes. By having the different widths of one or more of the inner or leading ends of adjacent vanes, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In still yet another embodiment, the distance of the inner or leading end of at least one vane from the blade is different from the distance of the inner or leading end of one or more adjacent vanes from the blade. In one aspect of this embodiment, the inner or leading end of each vane is spaced within about one inch of the blade. Typically, the inner or leading end of each vane is spaced about 0.05-0.4 inch from the blade. By having the different distances of one or more of the inner or leading ends of adjacent vanes from the blade, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In a further embodiment, the radius of curvature of at least a portion of one or more vanes is different from the radius of curvature of at least a portion of one or more adjacent vanes. By having the radius of curvature of at least a portion of one or more vanes different from the radius of curvature of one or more adjacent vanes, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation, thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In yet a further embodiment, at least one vane has a different length from at least one or more adjacent vanes. By having a length of one or more vanes different from the length of one or more adjacent vanes, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation, thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In still a further embodiment, the inner or leading end of one or more vanes is sloped differently from the inner or leading end of one or more adjacent vanes. The sloped surface of the inner or leading end of one or more vanes performs several functions such as reducing air noise and increasing the efficiency by which the air is drawn from the blade. As the inner or leading end of a vane is positioned closer to the blade of the blower fan, more air is drawn away from the blade by the vane. The increased amount of drawn air from the blade increases the efficiency to which the blower fan draws air into the air cleaner and expels the filtered air. However, the closer the leading end of the vane is positioned to the blade during operation, the louder the air cleaner operates. The increased noise levels are caused by the high velocity air contacting the inner or leading end of the vane and causing a whistling sound. In addition, the high velocity air can cause the vane to vibrate which also results in noise. The vibration and whistling is reduced or significantly eliminated by increasing the space of the inner or leading end of the vane from the blade. However, increasing of the spacing of the vane inner or leading end from the blade reduces the efficiency at which the air is drawn from the blade, thus reducing the amount of air drawn into the air cleaner. By sloping the inner or leading end of the vane, the amount of whistling noise and vibration of the vane is significantly reduced when the inner or leading end of the vane is positioned close to the blade. As a result, the inner or leading end can be placed closer to the blade to increase air withdrawal efficiencies without increasing operation noise. The use of a sloped surface vane as compared to a straight surface vane has also been found to more efficiently draw air from the blade during operation of the air cleaner, thus further increasing the efficiencies of operation. In one aspect of this embodiment, the sloped inner or leading end of at least one vane slopes from the top to the bottom of the vane. In another aspect of this embodiment, the inner or leading end of at least one vane slopes from the bottom to the top of the vane. In still another aspect of this embodiment, the sloped angle of the inner or leading end of the vane is about 10-75xc2x0. In operation, the sloped angle is typically about 20-40xc2x0. In yet another aspect of this embodiment, the sloped surface is a linear or straight surface. In still yet another aspect of this embodiment, the sloped surface is an arcuate or curved surface. In still a further aspect of this embodiment, the angle of slope of the inner or leading end of at least one vane is different from the angle of slope of the inner or leading end of one or more adjacent vanes. By having different angles of slope of one or more of the inner or leading ends of adjacent vanes, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In yet a further aspect of this embodiment, the length of the sloped region of the inner or leading end of at least one vane is different from the length of the sloped region of the inner or leading end of one or more adjacent vanes. By having different lengths of sloped regions of one or more of the inner or leading ends of adjacent vanes, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In still a further embodiment, the rigidity profile of at least one vane is different from the rigidity profile of one or more adjacent vanes. In one aspect of this embodiment, the rigidity of one or more vanes is altered by increasing or decreasing the thickness of the vane over at least a portion of the vane. The differing vane thickness will cause the vane to vibrate differently from other vanes as filtered air passes through the vanes during operation of the air cleaner. In another aspect of this embodiment, the rigidity of one or more vanes is altered by changing the composition of the vane over at least a portion of the vane. The differing vane composition will cause the vane to vibrate differently from other vanes as filtered air passes through the vanes during operation of the air cleaner. By having different rigidity profiles of one or more adjacent vanes, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In still yet a further embodiment, the inner or leading end of the vane has a tapered edge. The tapered edge further reduces operation noise and increases air withdrawal efficiencies from the blower fan. In one aspect of this embodiment, the inner or leading end of at least one vane has a tapered edge and the inner or leading end of at least one vane does not have a tapered edge. By having one or move vanes with tapered edges and one or more vanes without tapered edges, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation, thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. In another aspect of this embodiment, the thickness of the tapered edge of an inner or leading end of at least one vane is different from the thickness of a tapered edge of an inner or leading end of at least one vane. By having one or more vanes with tapered edges of differing thicknesses, the harmonics of two or more vanes are different during operation, thereby reducing the amount of vibration of the vanes during operation, reducing the amount of vibrational noise during operation, reducing the pressure drop through the room cleaner, and increasing the air filtering efficiencies of the room cleaner. As can be appreciated with respect to these embodiments and aspects of these embodiments, two or more combinations of these embodiments and aspects of these embodiments can be used in the air cleaner to reduce the vibrational noise and increase the air efficiencies during operation of the air cleaner.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the use of a mesh screen about the outer periphery of the air exhaust can be eliminated. The use of a typical mesh type screen causes a significant pressure drop as the filtered air passes through the multitude of openings in the screen. The elimination of the use of a traditional mesh design and the use of the new vane design overcomes the pressure drop problems, thereby allowing larger volumes of air to be expelled in a given surface area. Therefore, a smaller size air exhaust can be used for a given pressure drop and volume of air expulsion as compared to a mesh screen air exhaust design. As a result, the size of the air exhaust can be reduced, which in turn can reduce the size of the air cleaner. Furthermore, a larger motor does not need to be used for a smaller air exhaust since comparable pressure drops are obtained even though the air exhaust occupies a smaller area than an air exhaust which includes a screen.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the air exhaust includes one or more air guides positioned between two or more vanes. The air guides assist in distributing the filtered air as it is expelled from the air cleaner, thereby reducing the air velocity from the air cleaner via a diffusion effect. The filtered air leaving the air exhaust may be expelled in a jet stream matter. The air guide assists in breaking up this jet stream so the air exits the air exhaust more evenly. The reduction or prevention of the jet stream air flow tendency reduces the amount of settled particles which are stirred up as the air exits the air exhaust. The air guide also can function to limit the access between the vanes. The air guide can also reduce vibrational and/or whistling noises caused by a jet stream thereby making the air cleaner quieter during operation. In one aspect of this embodiment, the air guides are substantially symmetrically oriented to one another. In another aspect of this embodiment, the air guides are not symmetrically oriented to one another. The non-symmetrical orientation of the air guides can reduce the amount of vibrational noise during the operation of the air cleaner.
In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, the motor mechanism of the air cleaner is located within the housing to draw air through the air intake, through one or more filters, into the inner chamber of the housing and to expel the filtered air out through the air exhaust. In one embodiment, the motor mechanism includes an electric motor which drives a blade that creates a vacuum in the inner chamber of the housing which results in air being drawn into the air intake and through the one or more air filters. In another embodiment, a particle filter is disposed between the air intake and inner chamber of the air cleaner to remove a wide variety of particles entrained in the air. In one aspect of this embodiment, the particle filter is a filter which removes at least about 99.97% of the particles entrained in the air having a size greater than about 0.3 micron. In another aspect of this embodiment, the particle filter is a filter which removes at least about 99.98% of the particles entrained in the air having a size greater than about 0.1 micron. In yet another aspect of this embodiment, the particle filter can be made of one or more filter layers. In one arrangement of this aspect of this embodiment, the particle filter is a single filter made of multiple filter layers. In another arrangement of this aspect of this embodiment, the particle filter is a plurality of single layer filters. In yet another arrangement of this aspect of this embodiment, the particle filter is a plurality of filters, which filters are single layer filters and/or multiple layer filters. In still another aspect of this embodiment, the filter removes particles from the air mechanically and/or by electrical attraction. The composition of the filter typically includes the composition of the filters disclosed in Assignee""s U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,248,323; 5,593,479; 5,641,343; 5,651,811; 5,837,020 and Assignee""s U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/032,589 filed Feb. 27, 1998, which are incorporated herein by reference.
In accordance with still a further aspect of the present invention, a gas filter is used in combination with the particle filter in the air cleaner to remove gases such as smoke, fumes, gas contaminants, and/or noxious gases from the filtered air. In one embodiment, the gas filter is positioned adjacent to the particle filter. In another embodiment, the gas filter is connected to and/or forms a part of the particle filter. In still another embodiment, the gas filter includes activated charcoal to absorb one or more gases from the filtered air. In one aspect of this embodiment, the gas filter is formed of non-woven activated charcoal matting. One type of non-woven material that can be used is a non-woven polyester material impregnated with activated carbon. In another aspect of this embodiment, the mat has a thickness of up to about 1.0 inch. In still another aspect of this embodiment, the mat has a sponge texture to increase the surface area of the activated carbon.
In accordance with still yet a further aspect of the present invention, one or more filters in the air cleaner are cylindrical in shape to increase the surface area to provide increased filtering efficiencies. In one embodiment, the particle filter is cylindrical in shape. In another embodiment, the gas filter is cylindrical in shape. In still another embodiment, the particle filter and the gas filter are positioned adjacent to one another thereby minimizing the area taken up by the filters and to ensure that the filters are properly positioned in the air cleaning system.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a support mechanism is employed to maintain the particle filter and/or the gas filter in a proper position and to support the particle filter and/or gas filter during the filtration of the air. The support mechanism can be incorporated into the filters themselves and/or can be an external mechanism such as a frame to hold the particle filter and/or gas filter in place. The support mechanism is designed to support and maintain the particle filter and/or gas filter in position without impairing the air flow through the particle filter and/or gas filter.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, the air filters in the air cleaner do not cause a large pressure drop as the air passes through the filter system. The fibers in the particle filter are designed to mechanically trap and/or electrically attract particles entrained in the air as they pass through the filter so as not to impair the air flow through the air filters. Furthermore, the other components of the air cleaner are designed to minimize pressure drop through the air cleaner. As a result, the air cleaner can use a smaller motor so that the air cleaner can have a more compact and portable design.
The primary object of the present invention is the provision of an air cleaner which can efficiently and effectively filter out particles entrained in the air.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of an air cleaner designed to have a large volume of air intake and a large volume of air exhaust with relatively low air velocity into and out of the air cleaner.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision that the filter element in the air cleaner can be easily changed when the filter becomes clogged or partially clogged, or old.
Still a further object of the present invention is an air cleaner which includes using a particle filter in combination with a gas filter to remove both particles and unwanted gases from the air.
In accordance with another object of the present invention, the particle filter and the gas filter are disposed in a coterminous relationship to one another and supported by a support structure.
In accordance with another object of the present invention, the air cleaner is designed to minimize the air pressure drop throughout the air cleaner thereby reducing the need for a large motor to draw in and expel air from the air cleaner.
In accordance with yet another object of the present invention, the discharge of air is expelled by outwardly radiating vanes which reduce pressure drop and noise during operation.
In accordance with another object of the present invention, the vanes are specially designed to reduce noise during and have improved air withdrawal efficiencies.
In accordance with still another object of the present invention, one or more of the vanes are not symmetrically oriented with respect to one another.
In accordance with another object of the present invention, one or more of the vanes are not harmonically oriented and/or shaped with respect to one or more of the other vanes.
In accordance with yet another object of the present invention, one or more of the vanes are not made of the same material with respect to one or more of the other vanes.
In accordance with still another object of the present invention, the air exhaust includes air guides to disperse filtered air from the air exhaust.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an air cleaner, wherein the discharge of air is generally radially outward from the entire periphery of the air cleaner housing so as to uniformly distribute the filtered air.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an air cleaner wherein air is drawn radially inwardly from the entire periphery of the unit near the base of the unit and the air is discharged outwardly about the entire periphery of the unit above the air intake.
In accordance with yet another object of the present invention, the air cleaner discharges filtered air without disturbing and/or causing settled particles to be recirculated in an environment.
It is still another object of the present invention to design a compact and portable air cleaner which can be easily moved to different rooms by a user.